Behavioral and psychological correlates of the implicit power motivein children in two cultural contexts

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Research on motivation has demonstrated that human behavior is energized and directed by a predominantly unconscious (i.e., implicit) motivational system. A central motive in this tradition is the power motive, defined as the concern for exerting influence on behavior and emotions of other people. In adults the implicit power motive is associated with prosocial as well as antisocial behavior. Despite theorizing about the shaping of implicit motives in prelingual childhood, knowledge on behavioral and psychological concomitants of the implicit power motive in childhood is virtually nonexistent. To fill this regrettable gap, the research program implements a longitudinal multi-method and multi-level design to scrutinize a compelling question in research on implicit motives: How does the implicit power motive shape childhood psychological processes and behavior? To answer this question, the strength of the implicit power motive will be assessed in elementary school children and longitudinally related to conative, affective, and cognitive correlates (attention, learning, and stress phenomena, behavior in interaction sequences and in self-report of children and parental informant rating). Given the postulated universality of implicit motives as well as vast cultural differences in parenting behavior (e.g., sanctioning behavior), the project will be realized in Germany and Cameroon to identify universal as well as culture-bound facets of the realization of the implicit power motive. The proposed research opens new horizons by initiating a re-interpretation of childhood behavior from an implicit motive point of view.